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Robots
PZ Industrial Sectors are littered with Robots of many types that work in Factories or Warehouses, here they perform most of the tasks that Humans used to perform. Large Industrial Robots build Vehicles, Tools, Appliances, and all the modern technology used by the PZ Civilian Sector, while smaller more Human like Robots act as the labour force in these places, moving crates, making repairs, and even cleaning. Eventually these Human Like Robots are replaced with newer models if they do not get damaged or their software gets Glitchy and they just wander off. Facts and Figures While most Robots in the PZ are used as Labour forces in the Robotown Industrial Factories, there are many that have been abandoned for a number of reasons, there are many types of Robots in the Dark Future but most are large industrial systems that are decommissioned when they become problematic but Humanoid Robots are able to wander off or just get dumped when they are no loner useful in the Industrial Sector. This results in a considerable number of destitute Robots in the slums of PZ Cities and more than a few are taken or wander into the NoGo, this results in more than a few Robots becoming a part of Gangs or Cults, some even build entirely Robot Gangs and Cults. There are numerous types of Humanoid Robots that end up abandoned or lost in the US but by far the most common is the Labour Unit. Like Vehicles and other Machines a Robot is vulnerable to Hack attempts and can employ software to defend themselves from these attacks, effectively giving all Robots 'The Plug' by default, Robots do not come with any special Software when they join a Force and any they wish to use must be purchased separately. Robots are immune to all Smoke, Radiation, Toxic Gas, and other environmental hazards and never need to test to resist them. Additionally Robots do not Heal from Wounds during a Campaigns Downtime Phase and instead must be repaired as with Vehicles, this means a Robot that wishes to recover from Damage or Critical Hits must use their Downtime in repair and may not perform other Downtime Actions while they are under repair. Labour Units These are the typical manual worker Robots and are used in vast numbers in PZ Industry, making them much more common in the Slums and NoGo regions of the US than any other type of Robot, and as a result they are by far the most likely to become part of a Gang or Cult. Skill: Robots are not designed to Drive Vehicles and as such they begin Campaign Games with a Drive Skill of 1 instead of 2, One Off Robot Characters suffer a -1 Penalty to their randomly generated Drive Skill. Kudos: As with other Campaign Characters a Robot may gain Kudos over the course of Engagements, though the Media are less interested in Robot Antics than the visceral Human on Human combat, as such Robots lose -1 Kudos from their total gained after each Engagement. Psychosis: While Robots in the PZ are programmed well and do not go crazy (Typically) those that have ended up outside of the system can gradually suffer from increasing Programming Errors, though more slowly than Humans. Each time Robot gains a Psychosis point roll a D6 on the result of a 5 or 6 the point is not gained as Software maintenance systems deal with the problem, otherwise they gain it as normal. Wounds: Robots in the Dark Future are built of sturdy materials such as Composite Plastics and Steel frames, this results in them being more survivable than Humans on the Road. Robots begin Campaign Games with 5 Wounds rather than 4, One Off Robot Characters add +1 to their randomly generated Wounds. Armour: Despite being built of Robust materials a Robot is not actually built to withstand Explosions and Bullets (Its simply not necessary in Industry). As a result a Robot begins the game with 0 Armour much like Humans. Mileage: Just like Humans, a Robot can grow better over time, learning algorithms and Storage systems allow the Robot to grow their experiences into better functionality of software over time, Robots gain Mileage as normal and begin play with 0 Mileage. Weight: Humanoid Robots are built to mirror humans in almost every way and as such they only weigh marginally more than Human Characters at 110 Weight. Cost: Robots are tougher than Humans and as a result cost an additional $350 over the base cost of a Human. Maintenance Units Many Robots in the PZ are built to maintain other machines in the Industrial Zones of Cities and while they are not as common as Labour Units they are still widely used and as a result they can be found in the Slums and NoGo areas of the US. Skill: Robots are not designed to Drive Vehicles and as such they begin Campaign Games with a Drive Skill of 1 instead of 2, One Off Robot Characters suffer a -1 Penalty to their randomly generated Drive Skill. Kudos: As with other Campaign Characters a Robot may gain Kudos over the course of Engagements, though the Media are less interested in Robot Antics than the visceral Human on Human combat, as such Robots lose -1 Kudos from their total gained after each Engagement. Psychosis: While Robots in the PZ are programmed well and do not go crazy (Typically) those that have ended up outside of the system can gradually suffer from increasing Programming Errors, though more slowly than Humans. Each time Robot gains a Psychosis point roll a D6 on the result of a 5 or 6 the point is not gained as Software maintenance systems deal with the problem, otherwise they gain it as normal. Wounds: Robots in the Dark Future are built of sturdy materials such as Composite Plastics and Steel frames, this results in them being more survivable than Humans on the Road. Robots begin Campaign Games with 5 Wounds rather than 4, One Off Robot Characters add +1 to their randomly generated Wounds. Armour: Despite being built of Robust materials a Robot is not actually built to withstand Explosions and Bullets (Its simply not necessary in Industry). As a result a Robot begins the game with 0 Armour much like Humans. Mileage: Just like Humans, a Robot can grow better over time, learning algorithms and Storage systems allow the Robot to grow their experiences into better functionality of software over time, Robots gain Mileage as normal and begin play with 0 Mileage. Weight: Maintenance Robots are built cheaply and as a result are heavier than Humans weighing in at 130. Cost: Robots are tougher than Humans and as a result cost an additional $1,000 over the base cost of a Human. Maintenance Robots count as having a Tool Kit integrated into their limbs and when purchased they come with a full number of Shots and must maintain their supplies if they wish to Repair equipment in Engagements. the Tool Kits weight is included in the Weight of the Robot and need not be modified to take into account. Assembler Units At first all Ada Could see was the Bootstrapper running across her vision, before the glow of a bright light above her became clear, she stared at it for several seconds before he realized it was the sun and the sounds of movement attracted her attention, wrist deep in her chest were the hands of a young boy and the scene around them was piled high with PZ Waste, the Yakuza had thrown her in the trash. Built to perform fine tasks in Factories, these Robots are used to assemble finished components in sweatshop like warehouses where thousands of these units will work day and night until they drop, this results in a reasonable number ending up abandoned on scrap piles, where they go from there the company don't really care, as a result a reasonable number end up in Slums and NoGo settlements looking for work wherever they can. Skill: Assembler Robots are built to perform presicion work and as a result the begin with a skill of 2 unlike other robots. Kudos: As with other Campaign Characters a Robot may gain Kudos over the course of Engagements, though the Media are less interested in Robot Antics than the visceral Human on Human combat, as such Robots lose -1 Kudos from their total gained after each Engagement. Psychosis: While Robots in the PZ are programmed well and do not go crazy (Typically) those that have ended up outside of the system can gradually suffer from increasing Programming Errors, though more slowly than Humans. Each time Robot gains a Psychosis point roll a D6 on the result of a 5 or 6 the point is not gained as Software maintenance systems deal with the problem, otherwise they gain it as normal. Wounds: Built to be as light as possible for their precision work these robots are not as tough as others and as a result they begin with 3 wounds. Armour: As with other Robots the light weight materials that make up Assembler units are not intended to provide protection from bullets and explosions, as a result Assembler units have 0 Armour. Mileage: Just like Humans, a Robot can grow better over time, learning algorithms and Storage systems allow the Robot to grow their experiences into better functionality of software over time, Robots gain Mileage as normal and begin play with 0 Mileage. Weight: The light weight construction of these units makes them lighter than other Robots, as a result these Robots Weigh 90. Cost: The highly precise servos and light weight plastics of these Robots makes them more costly than Human Characters and each Assembler unit Costs an additional $400 over a standard Character. Robot Gangs Robots that have fallen into the NoGo or Slums are often desperate to survive and many will band together to make Gangs of Robots that roam the wastes in search of bounty to maintain themselves and make life a little more bearable. This will often result in Gangs of Robots forming and building a Territory that provides them with the resources they need to survive, though a Robot Gang can have Humans or Mutants in their Gang unless they have a Toxic or Irradiated Territory in which case they can only have Mutant allies. Robot Gangs are constructed in much the same manner as other Gangs, they can select dangerous environments from the Territory Design section when they are created but if they do they cannot have Humans in their Gang. Robot Cults While many Robots end up in the NoGo, they are not generally bent on becoming part of a fringe Cult, as a result pure Robot Cults are extremely rare, generally a Robot seeking meaning in higher beings will join a Cult composed of Humans and/or Mutants rather than founding an entirely Robot Cult. Despite this it is possible for a pure Robot Cult to exist, generally their primary Faith will focus around the need to seek answers to their existence and rarely will they follow a singular or pantheon of deities, instead following in the belief that machines themselves are in some way divine or connected to the divine, and they will seek to bring other machines into this system. A Player creating a Robot Cult should follow the normal rules on Cult creation. Robot Ops Teams Robots cannot get a Contract to create an Ops Team, but they can be employed within one, the total number of Robots in an Ops Team must be less than Half the total members. Robots that are members of an Ops Team cannot be the Leader as they could not retain the Contract, but if they are a member of an Ops Team they operate out of the PZ and can access PZ services. Specialist Robots While the Units listed above are intended to provide an overview of the most common types of Robot there are many variations in the US and a Player may design new Units such as Medic Units, Military Units, or anything else that comes to mind using the system presented below, the Cost of a Robot should never exceed $1,000 more than the base cost of a Character. Skill: +1 Costs $250, -1 Gives +$100. Kudos: +1 Costs $100, -1 Gives +$50, Half Rate Gives $250. Psychosis: +1 Gives +$X50, +1 Auto Protection Costs $250. Wounds: +1 Costs $250, -1 Gives +$100. Armour: +1 Costs $250. (Max 1 Point per 250 weight (or part)). Weight:+10 Costs $30, -10 Gives +$15. Psych Power: 1 Psych Power Costs $350 (A Character cannot begin with more than 1). Close Combat +1 Costs $100, -1 Gives +$50. Equipment: 1 Piece of Equipment adds 80% of its cost to the Robots cost. A Modifier that Costs increases the total cost of the Character, while Modifiers that Give reduce the total cost of the Character. A Robot may have a single piece of Equipment integrated into their design, such Equipment cannot be removed or carrier by another Character as it is part of the Robots design. The Equipment comes with a full load of Shots if it requires any, but Reloads must be purchased at the normal price. Improving Robots (See Robotic Augmentation) As with other Characters a Robot may spend Mileage to improve their Skill or Wounds over the course of a Campaign and they may also run Software that can be used on 'The Plug' or Attack Programs as any Character with the right Implant or Equipment can. But Robots may also benefit from further mechanical augmentation that organic creatures cannot be fitted with, these include a number of modifications that can significantly alter the Robots performance on the Field. See Also Character Design On Foot Robotic Augmentation Software Gang Cult Ops Team Mutants Humans Androids Index